July 28, 2005
Michael Braukus/J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-1979/5241)
Dr. Brien Seeley, President
CAFE Foundation
(Phone: 707/544-0141)
RELEASE: 05-204
NASA ANNOUNCES AERONAUTICAL CENTENNIAL CHALLENGE
NASA and the Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency (CAFE) Foundation
announced their intention to pursue the first aeronautical
competition in the Centennial Challenges program.
The announcement was made today at the Experimental Aircraft
Association (EAA) AirVenture 2005 air show in Oshkosh, Wis. The
Personal Air Vehicle (PAV) Challenge will award annual prizes
totaling $250,000 to the teams that can best design, develop, and
demonstrate technology improvements in various general aviation
aircraft capabilities.
NASA's Centennial Challenges promote technical innovation through a
novel program of prize competitions. It is designed to tap the
nation's ingenuity to make revolutionary advances to support NASA
goals and the Vision for Space Exploration. PAV is the fifth NASA
Centennial Challenge.
"The intent of the PAV Challenge is to encourage innovation in the
amateur and sporting aviation communities to help enhance the general
aviation transportation system," said NASA's Associate Administrator
for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, Dr. J. Victor
Lebacqz. "This prize competition is a great follow-on to previous
NASA investments in small aircraft and complements existing industry
consortia in general aviation," he added.
To win one or more of the five PAV Challenge purses, teams must modify
their general aviation or sport aircraft to demonstrate the best
performance in five technology areas. NASA predicts the technologies
targeted by this competition will have a quick and positive impact on
the general aviation industry and on public air travel. The first
competition will be in mid-2006. The purses will be awarded at EAA
AirVenture 2006 in Oshkosh.
"Centennial Challenges is partly modeled on the long and successful
history of cash prizes being used to stimulate advances in air
travel. We intend to continue that tradition," said NASA's Centennial
Challenges program manager Brant Sponberg.
Fifty thousand dollars will be awarded for two technology developments
related to aircraft noise. Twenty-five thousand dollars will be
awarded to the teams that can minimize external noise measured
outside the airplane. Another $25,000 will be presented to the team
that can minimize noise measured inside the aircraft’s cabin.
Another $50,000 will be divided between two teams whose aircraft
demonstrate the best handling qualities and overall ease-of-use. The
remaining $150,000 will be awarded to the single team whose vehicle
demonstrates the best overall flight performance measured in a
calculated score that includes door-to-door trip velocity, energy
consumption, and passenger carrying capability.
"Judging from our past experience in hosting flight competitions, the
PAV Challenge should attract outstanding design efforts and give a
tremendous boost to the technology, safety and usability of personal
aircraft," said CAFE President, Dr. Brien Seeley. "The PAV Challenge
rules that CAFE drafted with NASA's general aviation experts will
make it a fair, safe and accurate competition and our team is honored
to pursue this annual event," he added.
The Centennial Challenges program is managed by NASA's Exploration
Systems Mission Directorate. The CAFE Foundation is an all-volunteer
tax-exempt educational corporation. It is dedicated to conducting and
sharing accurate, detailed flight research and other information
about personal experimental aircraft.
For information about Centennial Challenges on the Internet, visit:
http://centennialchallenges.nasa.gov
For information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
For information about CAFE on the Internet, visit:
http://www.cafefoundation.org
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